


The Two Original Fears

by UhhAssholes



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Charms, Death, Djinni & Genies, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fear, Fear of Death, M/M, Magic, Magic Charms, Memory Magic, Not Canon Compliant, Slow Burn, This Is STUPID, Time Shenanigans, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UhhAssholes/pseuds/UhhAssholes
Summary: You don't have to be afraid of falling. Just close your eyes, let go, and know that I'll always be here with arms outstretched, ready to catch you.Miguel was falling through the stale air of the school. Everyone could see him. And he was about to die.Some backstory. Some people are born with Charms. The charms have different looks to them. The people born with charms are destined to be Djinns, or Genies. Everyone knows they exist. A djinn's charm is usually wrapped around a weapon, or a bottle sometimes. Whomever has possession of the charm controls the Djinn. In this story, both Robby and Miguel are Djinns.
Relationships: Miguel Diaz/Robby Keene, Miguel Diaz/Tory (Cobra Kai), Robby Keene/Samantha LaRusso
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	1. The Fear Of Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miguel was falling through the stale air of the school. Everyone could see him. And he was about to die.

Miguel was falling through the stale air of the school. Everyone could see him. And he was about to die.

Everyone has these ideas of what it'll be like when you're about to die. Your life flashes before your eyes, or your vision narrows as you walk towards the light. Sometimes the story is different. That your mind is filled with fear, and you act hysterically. They're lies. All of them.

 _But_ , Miguel contemplated calmly, _every lie has some truth to it_. Miguel's mind wasn't in hysterics. His life didn't flash before his eyes. And his vision didn't focus on a glowing light.

No. Instead, Miguel's mind was calm. Peaceful. On the outside, he could feel his body struggling to latch onto something, anything, if it meant he could survive. He felt the wind rip at his clothes as he neared what would most likely hurt. But on the inside, he was calm. Surprisingly rational, yet also irrational. Instead of focusing on how he was about to die, his mind decided to focus on something else.

"There are two fears that people are born with." Miguel's mother said, dressing the table as a barely two year old Miguel sat strapped in his baby seat. "The first is one people are familiar with. The fear of loud noises. When someone claps their hands, you will jump. When they surprise you and shout, you might scream. But the fear is more complex than that. It's not so much the fear of the noise. When it comes to surprise parties, it's just the fight or flight response kicking in. But, when it comes something dangerous, such as the sound of a bullet in the dead of night, your mind focuses too strongly. We all feel this, and it's hard to suppress. We think that it might be someone we know, or someone we care about who is shot. And I'm telling you this because I know, that at the moment, you're too young to understand, and much to young to remember." Carmen whispered, sliding the baby food in front of her child so she could properly feed him.

"The second fear, commonly overlooked, is a common one. Not surprising, considering everyone is born with it." She chuckled, moving the spoon in the imitation of an airplane. "This fear is tied in closely with the fear known as algiophobia, or algophobia. That is the fear of pain. This is more of the fear of what comes after the second fear. It's also tied to the fear of acrophobia, but not as strongly, and not for everyone. That is the fear of high places." She smiled as she thought. "At least, that's what your father used to say."

Baby Miguel cooed as he got a mouthful of the gross yellow Gerber food. He couldn't quite taste the vegetable or chicken quite yet, as he was still young, but for some reason, he was enraptured by his mothers words.

His mother, hearing the coo, smiled warmly, making Miguel smile his toothless grin. "Sometimes," She tested, "I forget you don't know what I mean." Carmen got off of her chair so she could kneel in front of her very small, beautiful baby boy. She grasped his equally as beautiful charm that would one day be his core in her grasp, the worn yet strong cord that was to be wrapped around his neck, flowed limply, almost heavily out of her hand.

"Everyone is born with the fear of falling."

Miguel watched as what seemed to be the sapping of kinetic energy from the air. His fall felt sluggish, slow. Everything was moving slow. He realized quickly that it was the adrenaline pumping in his veins. Just delaying the inevitable. He watched as the early mentioned charm hung from Robby's pocket.

Speaking of Robby, he didn't see a light. But his vision did tunnel. It tunneled until Robby filled his entire view, until he could see no else. Robby was his focus. Unsurprisingly, his mind was filled with burning hatred. But Miguel knew it wasn't real. The emotion had gone stale, a memory of a memory. It had shriveled, until it could be pushed aside to make room for a new emotion. Forgiveness. Miguel wasn't mad. He understood. Anger got the best of everyone from time to time. And sometimes, in instances such as these, they would inevitably end in deadly consequences.

So yes, all of those stories were lies. And once again, yes, it seemed, all lies had some truth to them. And now he had come to accept his fate, which was fast approaching. But something stopped him. A cold clamminess in his hand. The feeling of sweat over smooth metal, and a small stone. Miguel, still falling both very fast, and very slow, saw what was in his palm. Robby's charm. He had forgotten that Robby even had one. Robby wasn't like most Djinn. Holding his charm didn't give you power over him. Miguel would know. He had tried once before.

It had been during the tournament. He had seen it around Robby's neck, and in a moment of desperation, he had ripped it off of Robby's neck as his other hand was occupied with Robby's leg. He remembers the sweat dripping down his forehead as he whispered into the smooth metal, "Let me win." After a half a second of struggle, Robby shook his head and kept fighting. The battle was over in a matter of seconds, only the fellow Cobra Kai's having seen Miguel take Robby's charm. Miguel had slipped it into Robby's bag on his way out. He didn't feel guilty for winning. Because Miguel knew something that the others didn't. Robby was able to resist his own charm. Robby, the rebellious son, the one who usually kept things to self defense. Had resisted his own charm. It hadn't grown warm in Miguel's grasp like charms usually did when a command was issued. An impossible feat, surely, but Robby had done it. Robby had fought with everything he had. And Miguel still won. And the nagging feeling wasn't guilt. It was jealousy. No one, no one at all, had power over Robby. And that made him jealous.

So that was how he knew that having Robby's talisman, his charm, his _core_ , would have no effect. But with the last few second before he would be embraced by the sweet, cold arms of death, he brought the charm up to his mouth, and whispered the words he knew Robby would hear.

"Save me."


	2. The Fear Of Loud Noises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robby hated his father. Why only recently had he even tried to be a part of Robby's life? He had no right to even try!
> 
> Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robby's POV... Sort of.
> 
> I appreciate the comments! Please, give me feedback. And if there are any tags I should add to the story.

Holy shit, Robby thought, he's going to die.

* * *

Robby, like all Djinn, had a charm. Robby, also like all Djinn, had an ability tied to it. He remembers the day he got it, clear as day. He had been four years old...

The memory, lie all of the ones he conjured from the deepest pits of his bottled up emotions, spread before his eyes. It was supposed to symbolize an angel spreading it's wings, according to his mother. Ironically, it felt more like how a cobra spreads it's hood before it lashes out with it's venomous fangs. 

And venomous was the memory indeed. He had been playing in the park with his mother, once full of happiness and life. His father(Johnny, his mind scolded him) was sitting on the bench, his elbows on his knees, fiddling with something in his hands as he smiled at what seemed to be the focus of his world. Robby had been building a sand castle, although not very successfully, when his father walked up to him, grabbing his attention from the grainy ruin he was trying to create.

Johnny smiled at him, kneeling down to talk to his son. His pride and joy. At the time, Robby had thought he would love him forever. Robby knew better now.

"I want you to have this." Johnny whispered, reaching his hand out to give it to his beautiful son the item he had kept around his neck since the day his mother had given it to him. "I wasn't destined to be the Djinn in this family. And I can't guarantee that you will be. But I hope so."

Robby, already on his feet, stumbled forward to take the little trinket. Running it over in his hands, he had to admire it. There were two golden circles, connected by golden feathers on all four sides. Dangling in the middle, was the number eight. Only Robby knew it wasn't an eight. It was what kept the world moving. It was an abstract idea, created by man, yet also universal, something life could not live without. It was part of who he was. And that was when Robby had felt it. The connection between him and this small piece of metal.

And in that moment, he vowed to never let it leave him.

The imagery changed. Swept away faster than the water wipes away carvings on the beach. In its place, was a new memory. The day his father left him for good. Robby had cried, and told his father that he loved him. Soon enough, the image changed again. They moved almost too fast, skipping through the months of skipped holidays, family reunions, and every other time his father should have been there but never showed up.

The flashing had stopped. In its place, was Robby, alone in the bathroom. Robby remembered this. His eighth birthday. His mom was out in the kitchen, his two best friends roaming around eating food and laughing, while the rest of the parents were out in the living room, laughing about some new development on the news.

Robby was crying. Not the heart wrenching sobs, not the bawling his eyes out. He was there, silent, no emotion visible on his face, but barely contained rage and pain in his eyes as tears fled down his cheeks.

"I hate you," he whispered, "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you so much."

He had been staring at his charm. The gold chain was wrapped around his neck as the charm hung limply, the usual shine dimmed only by what Robby could say was his own emotions.

Drawing in his last breath as he wiped away the tears, he looked in the mirror. His eyes were puffy and red. The question lingered on his tongue similar to a bad aftertaste. 

"Why did yo leave?"

Again, the scene shifted. Robby was trying, nearly desperate, to get the scenes to stop, to watch Miguel's fate that he had caused so that he could see the pain it would cause.

This time, he was ten. He was in the supermarket, picking out what lunchable he wanted for the school field trip tomorrow. Snatching a couple dollars from his moms purse was always easiest when she was drunk, having gone through another long night of "trying to find love."

Robby, sensing somebody watching him, looked up.

"Dad!"

Johnny, as if sensing he was noticed, bolted down the aisles, trying his hardest to leave the son he had left once before.

Robby, having reached the end of his aisle, looked to the direction his father had run. Seeing no one, he felt tears well up in his eyes.

 _So stupid,_ he thought, _thinking he would care._

He lashed out with his foot, shattering something under his foot. Upon closer inspection, he realized what it was. A Coors beer bottle.

Robby, rage now replacing his self-deprecation, wiped the tears away before they left his eyes. Robby was angry. And underneath the burning wrath of his anger, the small tree of hope had withered under the unforgiving sun that was his hatred.

"I revoke you. I hate you so much," Robby whispered into his palm, the charm clutched into his hand, "and I revoke the everything that has to do with you. I don't need this charm, and I don't need you. I'm strong. I can live without you. And I can live without being this families fated Djinn. Find someone else who will care in anyway. I don't need this crap in my life." 

Crap had been a word he had learned fairly recently. He had learned a multitude of curse words, but none seemed fitting, so he settled for crap.

When he reached the entrance of the store, lunchable completely forgotten, he threw the charm in the trash. But he didn't hear the tell-tale sign of the bag inside rustling. Looking down, he saw the char still firmly clutched in his hand. Again, he tried to drop it in the trash, but to no avail. He was giving the command, he was sure, but it was as if his body was disobeying. It was then that he had his first sight-consuming memory.

His vision shifted once more. He was back at school, watching as Miguel fell through the air. The despair was clear in his eyes, his terror there as well. But also, a dim acceptance.

And Robby saw a flash in his eyes, a realization. In that split second, he read doubt, understanding, confusion. But most of all, he saw hope.

Miguel raised Robby's charm, which he hadn't realized was missing, to his mouth and whispered two words.

"Save me."

And Robby let him fall.

Things seemed to speed up again, Miguel landed, and that was when he heard it. The crack from Miguel's back echoed through the air, almost palpable in the silence.

But no one heard it louder than Robby. The crack echoed louder and louder, reverberating in his head until it became too painful.

There was shouting, Robby could hear it. Looking to the left he saw Sam, and heard her clearly, as if it was the first words in an almost endless silence.

"Robby, what did you do!?"

His vision flashed again, his head throbbing in bursts of agony. Memories where shoved in his head, but not ones he had seen before. Almost quicker than they appeared, they were yanked from his vision to make room for a new one, but he knew more things now. The pain and suffering of Carmen, Miguel's mother, and Johnny, Robby's father. The sadness that had overtaken Robby's body, with the regret, pain, and loneliness all saddling him with thoughts of the past. And then one unfamiliar memory stayed. 

Robby was walking through the parking lot of a random store, only seconds after getting the news that Miguel had died, his body having shut down completely. He was sobbing as he collapsed onto the ground. Sam was next to him, her entire demeanor having changed over the time Miguel had been in the hospital. She had become cold, nearly emotionless.

"Why are you crying? It's not like you even cared." She grunted, not a tear being shed for the lost love of her life.

Robby, for a second, dwelled on that thought for a moment. The realization hit him harder than a freight train ever could, his body almost reeling from the shock.

"Because I love him."

"Save me."

* * *

Robby was snapped back to the present.

Miguel hadn't died. He was still falling.

At the mere command issued to him, he felt the resistance over the years to block his charm from him flair up, trying to stop the command from getting through. And for a moment, Robby felt fear. Real fear. Fear that he would have to hear that horrible crack saturate the air again. But mostly, fear that he would lose his love.

And he let his defenses crumble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I'm evil with these cliffhangers. Give a kudos if you liked it, and comment if you would like to see more.


End file.
